ScottH

To all with AOS appointments scheduled:

This may have been stated somewhere in the very helpful guides here, but make sure you bring a "green" stamped and certified copy of your marriage certificate to AOS interview as it caused a delay in our approval.

At our AOS interview, I brought the original pink copy of the signed certificate from our town clerk's office (we were married by the mayor), and the AOS officer did not accept it. He could not tell from the copy in the I-485 application package that it was not a "certified" original. It caused us another long trip and wait, and more stress.

Scott

I'm going to have a difficult time trying to get a county clerk in Oklahoma to copy my marriage certificate onto green paper before certifying it

Hence the quotation marks, as the AOS interviewer asked for the "green copy".

BTW, the certified copy WAS green!

Maybe a NJ thing.....

To all with AOS appointments scheduled:

This may have been stated somewhere in the very helpful guides here, but make sure you bring a "green" stamped and certified copy of your marriage certificate to AOS interview as it caused a delay in our approval.

At our AOS interview, I brought the original pink copy of the signed certificate from our town clerk's office (we were married by the mayor), and the AOS officer did not accept it. He could not tell from the copy in the I-485 application package that it was not a "certified" original. It caused us another long trip and wait, and more stress.

Scott

I agree that you should file the 485 ASAP!

But if you are trying to save money and don't plan to travel for awhile, i would disagree slightly with RichardS and say save the $165 or $175 and don't file the AP application. The AP was a waste of money in our case (as was the EAD), as AOS interview and green card approval happened less than six months after filing AP application and 485 application (you can travel after the AOS approval and receiving your stamp or green card).

Scott

Great news and congratulations!

Whatever the case, good luck! And let us know how it all went!

Back to town clerk yesterday, a lot of begging to get stamped copy, and back to Newark this a.m. Case officer had told us Tuesday just to call him up to window and he would stamp passport. Well, we arrived at 9:30, and SRO - 3-4 hour wait. We saw Case Officer and after 2.5 hours had to jump up to window after he called someone else - another 30 minutes and he comes to window and tells us he is too busy to pull our file and stamp passport - he will do tomorrow and we will get in 2-3 weeks. Not a bad guy, just overloaded most likely. So essentially we awaited 3 hours for nada and could have just dropped marriage license off. Added to that is the concern over many threads here that state people are waiting months to get there green cards in the mail. We need to leave the country for a Thai wedding ceremony during June.

Two days off of work without much to show. Just hoping that green card comes as promised.

Scott

The same thing happened to us, they never sent us the biometrics appointment notice for the EAD, although we did have the biometrics done for the AOS (I-485). I had an infopass appointment last month at which they told me the EAD was approved November 10, but could not give to me as no biometrics. I used the 800 number and they told me to go to Newark biometrics building the next morning, at which time they would not give me the biometrics under any circumstances without the appointment letter. This was after being told to show up at 8 am by the USCIS on the phone. I live over an hour from Newark, BTW.

I sent a letter to USCIS to request the EAD biometrics appointment notice over a month ago with no response. Now essentially a non-issue as our AOS interview was Tuesday. $165 down the drain. My wife has a job offer on the table also.

Tuesday was a 2.5 hour wait, everything went OK and conditionally approved, but needed a stamped copy of marriage license (we had original from Mayors office, but not stamped). Back to town clerk yesterday, a lot of begging to get stamped copy, and back to Newark this a.m. Case officer had told us Tuesday just to call him up to window and he would stamp passport. Well, we arrived at 9:30, and SRO - 3-4 hour wait. We saw Case Officer and after 2.5 hours had to jump up to window after he called someone else - another 30 minutes and he comes to window and tells us he is too busy to pull our file and stamp passport - he will do tomorrow and we will get in 2-3 weeks. Not a bad guy, just overloaded most likely. So essentially we awaited 3 hours for nada and could have just dropped marriage license off. Added to that is the concern over many threads here that state people are waiting months to get there green cards in the mail. We need to leave the country for a Thai wedding ceremony during June.

Two days off of work without much to show. Just hoping that green card comes as promised.

Scott

Congrats!

You really are lucky, as we were there yesterday and had to wait 2+ hours!

Also, we have to go back tomorrow with a stamped copy of our marriage certificate. We had the original from the township ( a pink copy) but was not the stamped green copy they wanted (I may start a thread to warn others of this). I had to bring donuts into the town hall this am and beg for them to do it asap. We are conditionally approved but have another long drive to newark tomorrow - I hope we get the stamp, our fingers are crossed!

Thank You!

Thank You

Thank You!

My wife has had her EAD approved but not issued as they never sent an EAD biometrics schedule notice to us and we have only had the AOS biometrics done and not the EAD biometrics.

After we go to the I-485 interview and if we are approved, do we still need an EAD, or will she be considered a "conditional permanent resident" and be allowed to work?

Probably a stupid question, but any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott

Hey email - i am in the same boat and infopass didn't help me get an appointment when I tried, luckily the biometrics letter came in a couple weeks after that. I am in Colorado but they must be going through the same scenario.

Thanks Motu, actually my top priority is getting EAD..that way I can move out to where my wife resides and get a job out there. But my case seems going faster so far and hopefully having biomtrics and EAD process done without any delay and problem.

Don't try and do this with the Newark NJ office. Absolutely no flexibility and rude responses, even though I was asked to go in for the biometrics the day before BY THE USCIS on the phone.

To provide a bit of background, the USCIS did not send me the biometrics appointment letter for my wife's EAD, only the AOS biometrics appoitment letter (at that time I didn't know we needed to do biometrics for both the EAD and AOS). The EAD was late in coming, so we made an infopass appointment, at which point they said that the EAD was approved but they couldn't give it to us as we didn't have the biometrics done.

After long calls the same day to the USCIS 800 help number, they told us to go in the next day to do the biometrics at 8 am (a one hour plus drive from home and work). After we arrived and waited an hour, they would not do the biometrics under any circumstances without the biometrics appointment letter. I politely asked to see the manager and she would not even let me explain - her words were "I don't need you coming in here and ranting and raving" I was amazed, I had to laugh and could only reply "ranting and raving, can't I even explain"?

Finally, she said, "yes go ahead and explain if you want" at which point I calmy said that we were told on the phone to come in by USCIS at 8 am, whereby she cut me off with "what they told you on the phone has nothing to do with us".

Us and them, like the two had nothing to do with one another. Very frustrating.

Do not expect any independent thinking by these people or for them to pick up a phone, look at a computer, or do anything else for you.

Scott